Photographer's Note

The Ark of Bukhara and a local. A break from my recently overly eurocentric gallery, an old scan, before the last of the scans disappear from my first gallery page. The man on the phone represents the latest essential position of humans, after sleeping, standing, sitting and eating, talking into a mobile phone must be the position we spend the most time in, and he gives scale. Sorry about the empty sky, I tried to fill it with some late autumn foliage, the date taken I determined from a stamp in an expired passport. Perspective correction and Neatimage applied. About the Ark from Wikipedia:

The Ark is a massive fortress located in the city of Bukhara, Uzbekistan that was initially built and occupied around the 5th century, CE. In addition to being a military structure, the Ark encompassed what was essentially a town that, during much of the fortress' history, was inhabited by the various royal courts that held sway over the region surrounding Bukhara. The Ark was used as a fortress until it fell to Russia in 1920. Currently, the ruins of the Ark are a tourist attraction and house museums covering its history.

Your frame is more meaningful with your notes. What a different type of design and seems build from adobe at first sight. Your model is doing his job perfect because helping to us imagine the scale of your view. Congratulations. I wish you a very good new week.

Hi Tan. It's not everyday I see a shot from Uzbekistan, lol! What a clean composition with the fall color sprinkled on top. I never would have guessed it was that old judging from its looks. The polarizer settings were perfect. tfs Tan.

Hi Tan,
Very fine soft lighting bathes the fortress in light. It always amazes me how the stonework in many of these ancient structures has such a golden hue, often resembling Cotswold stone. The contrast with the blue of the sky creates a striking image. Well done, Tan. This part of the world is fascinating.
John

Excellent and relevant note to a clear and bright shot.
The sky might be empty but it certainly is not boring, with this blue deepening at one end and lighting up at the other. The tree leaves are an interesting addition to the whole, like a crown placed on top of the entrance. Well sighted... and yes, we spend most of our time on the mobile phone nowadays when we should rather be enjoying the sights ;D
Excellent shot, TFS!
Julia

I can honestly say that I have never seen of photo of this before - what an interesting story and interesting building. The scale of this is massive, and somehow it always seems bigger when there is just one person in the picture. Great work!

I don't think you need apologise for having a plain sky at all You have framed this magnificent building very well with the contrasting golden leaves but in fact, because of the regular shape of the fort, a plain deep blue sky would work well too.

Hi Tan,
Really impressive and curious, that nicely captured building.
The colors and sharpness are great, specially for a scan. The pov was well chosen - I like it's unbalance. The empty sky doesn't bother me much, neither the noise on it. You are right about the man giving a notion of scale - it makes the building even more imposing.
Congratulations.
TFS, Regards, Jose

Hi Tan - back to the old Minolta & Fuji slides, the scan is good very sharp & clear. Good light here & the leaves at the top left of the frame are a nice touch of contrast against the deep blue of the sky. An interesting building too, and as already pointed out that 'local' helps define the scale of the place.

Hi Tan,
LOL at that one it seems you stoppped on the way in New England to taken one of these fall colored trees with you ;-)
Overall brightness and colors are superb resulting in a very luminous view, I like the wall of this fortress that suggests more distortion than actually is !
Have a nice day,
Jean-Yves

Hi Tan
Back to your old beauties? The quality is superb. The fortress is imposing & inclusion of the man really makes us understand the size. The autumn foliage does standout against the deep blue sky. Thanks for sharing with us the wonderful place
Regards
Angshu

Hi Tan,
Excellent composition and a beautiful picture from a place I would love to visit someday. That burst of yellow at the top of the frame is a brilliant touch. Effectively fills up the empty places.With Greetings from India
Sabyasachi

That's impressive : the colors and the light are really pure (what a blue). The pov is the best to enhance the powerful architecture. The cropping is smart, including these brown leaves which create contrast and even light. A complete shot.
Wish a merry Christmas.
Stéphane

Hi Tan. It wasn't until I started reading your note (. . . and a local) that I spotted the guy standing to the left of the entrance and realised the scale of this massive building. The empty sky is fine with me - it helps to enhance the clean lines of this fortress. The contrast of the autumn foliage against the sky is great. It's a pity that wasn't in the top right hand corner - it would have created a nice balance to the image - but trees don't always grow exactly where us photographers would like them to ;)

Hi, Tan
In fact, I think this vast empty sky is one of the strengths of this photo, Tan. Its clear blue tone, the golden hues of the foliage and the gray of this impressive building go together very well.
Regards and happy new year!
Sergio

Hi Tan.
Uzbekistan is one country I dream to visit for a long time. My state of mind about this area is probably influenced by all the stories I have read or heard about the mythic silk road... Of course contributions as this one will confirm that it is worth going there to discover the country...
Your picture is remarkable for its contrasts and its very pure colors. It's almost impossible to guess it was a scan.
Thanks for sharing!